Wristbands incorporating electric conductors are already known. EP Patent Applications No. 0 125 930 and No. 0 126 629 disclose for example a wristband answering the general definition given hereinbefore, the electric conductor incorporated in the wristband being used to assure an electric connection with a component placed in the wristband (for example a battery) or to form a loop antenna around the wrist. In this latter case, in particular, each strand of the wristband is provided with an electric conductor one end of which is connected to the case of the electronic instrument and the other end of which is connected to corresponding end of the other strand via a wristband fastening device, the latter being itself electrically conductive.
Other examples are known. WO Patent Application No. 86/03645 for example, proposes a solution wherein the wristband fastening device can be of the type including a buckle with a tongue or of the type with male and female parts that plug into each other. U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,694 and No. 5,526,006 propose a solution wherein the position of the wristband fastening device can be adjusted on one of the wristband strands, this wristband strand including several zones distributed longitudinally on the inner face of the wristband where the electric conductor is exposed and to which the wristband fastening device is electrically connected. These documents also propose a solution for manufacturing the wristband, which consists in providing one or several extensions on the conductive plate for holding the plate in a mould during an operation of overmoulding a synthetic material around the conductive plate, the extension or extensions being provided to be broken after overmoulding.
In the aforementioned solutions, in order to assure electric contact with the conductive plate while allowing the length of the wristband to be adjusted, it will be noted that parts of the conductor are exposed to allow contact elements arranged on the wristband fastening device to be directly applied against the conductive plate. This type of solution has a drawback insofar as the exposed parts of the conductive plate can quickly be oxidised and thus cause a deterioration in the quality of the electric contact. Such oxidisation is accelerated, in particular, by the presence of sweat when the wristband is worn on the wrist. From an aesthetic point of view, this type of solution is also undesirable.
Another drawback of these solutions lies in the relatively large thickness of the wristband around the fastening device, the two wristband strands being superposed there. Finally, this type of solution limits the possibilities for manufacturing the wristband fastening device.